Merc 100hp 2 stroke Starter Problems

[snobum5637]

I was out yesterday with our recently purchased Whaler and ('99) 100hp merc 2 stroke. Late in the evening our starter failed. I took the cowling off to find that the gear would spin but the shaft wouldnt kick up to the flywheel in order to start. After multiple attempts I tried the old (and highly advised aginst) trick of tapping the starter with a hard object while cranking it. WHAM! It kicked and we were running again. I didnt try the satarter again at the ramp because it was late. Is the solenoid bad? Can I get away with replacing that instead of the entire starter??
Any help would be awesome.

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: Merc 100hp 2 stroke Starter Problems

Have the starter checked/ rebuilt by a reputable SP?? Place that deals with starters. Bad conections. Clean all connections concernig starter and apply di-electric grease to the connections before re-installing them.

 

[olsenk514]

Re: Merc 100hp 2 stroke Starter Problems

Same thing was happening with my '95 merc. If it sat for a while I'd go to start it and the starter would spin, but the gear wouldn't go up to engage the flywheel teeth. I took some white lithium grease in a spray can and gave a couple squirts to the bendix where it slides up. If you turn the starter gear by hand it should go up towards the flywheel. Just give it some grease once it's up all the way and try it out.

 

[snobum5637]

Re: Merc 100hp 2 stroke Starter Problems

Thanks for the advice. I recieved another suggestion of lubricating the bendix with corrosion X. Ill give it a shot.